Wildfires rage in Colorado resort town

Hundreds of people were driven from their homes in the town of South Fork, Colo., as a cluster of roaring wildfires – collectively known as the West Fork Complex fire – scorched its way through the southern part of the state. NBC’s Mike Taibbi reports.

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>>another threat tonight, wildfires in the west, raging out of control. as firefighters race to protect a storied
resort town
in colorado, resources are stretched and hundred of property owners can only hope for the best. here is nbc's
mike taibbi
.

>> reporter: thick cloud of smoke in the near distance beyond the rooftops. and the ominous glow of flames burning. for hundreds evacuated from the
resort town
of
south fork
, losing their homes to a fire so huge it can't be fought from the ground or from the air seems inevitable.

>>we hate to leave it. but if it is gone it is gone.

>> reporter: with the
cloud cover
thickening and wind abate abating and shifting there was optimism at today's briefing.

>>it is
still burning
but it was not showing the type of activity it was the other day.

>> reporter: still some 60
square miles
have been scorched along three separate fronts in this lightning ignited wildfire while the fire's weather driven course change has spared
south fork
so far the flames are still two or three
miles away
and could also take out a
ski resort
that is the area's lifeblood.

>>if we lose the
ski area
, that is the --

>> reporter: the bigger problem here and in the west is diminished
snow melt
and rainfall and earlier arrival of peak
summer heat
compounded by dry wind. the result, vast tracks of timberland transformed into fields of fuel.

>>you put a match to it and they just go up like you poured gasoline on hem.

>> reporter: officials say it will be days before those evacuated from
south fork
will be allowed to return to their homes and apartments if they're
still standing
. if not.

>>nobody is in there to get heart other than the apartments.

>> reporter: the
big fire
near
colorado springs
earlier this month left two dead and consumed some 500 homes. there has been no similar toll here.

>>it is always a successful day when we have not lost a life and we have not
lost someone
's home.

>> reporter: the story of this fire is nowhere near written yet.
mike taibbi
, nbc news,
los angeles
.